The present invention relates generally to hardware and apparatus for securing conventional doors or the like. More particularly, the present invention is related to a door bar system adapted to be removably, securely mounted between opposite sides of a door to prevent it from being opened. It is believed that U.S. Class 292, Subclass 268 is most relevant.
In the prior art a variety of systems have been employed to mount door bars or braces for security reasons. With the increasing nationwide crime rate the need for security devices is readily apparent. In the prior art a variety of door bar systems have been proposed. Most of these suffer from the disadvantage that at least one end of the door bar comtemplated must be permanently coupled to one side of the door to be blocked. Since the apparatus cannot be easily removed, it may sometimes present an aesthetic objection. Moreover, such systems tend to constantly "get in the way" and they may interfere with desired ingress and egress. Because of the structure of known prior art devices many cannot be mounted in "right sided" or left sided" operation. For example, doors may be hinged on the left or on the right, and the associated conventional door knob, door latch or the like will be located upon the opposite side. Since applications vary in this manner, a viable commercial door bar system must be able to quickly and easily adapt for mounting on either left sided or right sided applications.
Examples of prior art door latch or door bar security systems in which a portion of the door bar is securely and permanently mounted adjacent the door may be seen in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,017,104; 3,986,741; 4,067,598; and 3,955,844. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,119,336 and 3,971,582 include door latching assemblies in which some form of slotted locking member is provided. U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,332 provides a door bar system in which the bar may be axially removed from one bracket, while vertical displacement to an opposite side of the bar will quickly result in discharge of the bar from its intended operation.